The First Daughter of Recon
by Tsuki No Shuurai
Summary: Coraline Short is headed toward her dream job in Recon,bouyed by her excellent grades,when she is shot down over a field in Ireland and meets Artemis Fowl.Along with her famous mother and a certain reprobate,Artemis and Cora must find Opal..save the world
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first foray into Artemis Fowl fanfiction. There will be spoilers for The Time Paradox later, so proceed carefully. I own none of the Artemis Fowl universe, nor do I own the name Coraline, which I credit to Neil Gaiman.**

**Enjoy!**

**The First Daughter of Recon**

My name is Coraline Short, and I am the first daughter of Recon.

That is to say, I am the daughter of the first and most notorious female captain in Recon history, Captain Holly Short. You've probably seen her face on some billboard somewhere, sometimes paired with the equally famous features of Artemis Fowl. Maybe if you looked at me, you'd see the resemblance; the again, maybe you wouldn't.

My mother was very free with me and perfectly willing to let me go to a different, less high-risk occupation, but I chose this path. I entered the Academy at ten, the youngest cadet ever, gliding on the success of the outstanding IQ test my mother insisted I take. It helped, too; when Foaly looked at the test scores, his eyebrows practically flew off his head. He swallowed and promised to talk to the Academy Head the next day, and voila! I was in.

Of course, the events I should be covering in this report occurred long after that, when I was sixteen and ready to begin apprenticeship with my mother's friend Tica Sheilds, the second girl in Recon and Mother's protégé. I was all set, until one of the two most dangerous fairy maniacs in the world began trying to become Queen of the galaxy again, and in the process shot me down over a field in Ireland.

Until I met Artemis Fowl in person. Until I discovered things about my own and my mother's past that, lets face it, I really didn't want to know.

Until I was plunged into a mission to save the world from Opal's domination.

And do you know what Fowl said?

"_Not again."_


	2. Chapter 2

**A Mother's Trust**

"CADET SHORT!"

I looked up at the sound of Professor Hobbs's bellow. "Yes, Professor?"

Professor Hobbs glared at me. It must have been quite an awe-inspiring sight to some; he was a big, burly Recon gnome who had retired years before I was born. Despite the fact that grey was now his prominent hair color, he still retained the musculature that had carried him, first through his college crunchball squad, then through Recon.

I am, perhaps, not so impressive. I'm slim like my mother, with a thin, bony face. I'm taller than her by ten centimeters, but it's not impressive-tall; it's more gangly, watch-out-she-could-topple-any-moment tall. Mother gave me her eyes—well, one of them at any rate. She has one blue eye and one hazel eye, and since heterochromatism is recessive, I ended up with her natural color and completely missed out on the blue eye. She said it had something to do with Artemis Fowl, and left it at that. I knew better than to ask her about Fowl.

However, my mother never was able to explain my hair. It's thick and dark, and probably my best feature. I supposed it had to be from my father, whom Mother liked to speak of as little as she liked to speak of Fowl. The only thing she would tell me was "Someday, Coraline, I'll tell you the story. But not now."

"Cadet Short, what are you doing?" Professor Hobbs bellowed.

I shrugged as all eyes turned to me. "What do you think I'm doing, Professor?"

As I spoke, I shoved my palm-top into my desk, hoping that he wouldn't come investigate.

A vein throbbed in Hobbs's temple. "What have you got in your desk, Short?"

I shrugged. "Nothing."

He stalked over and tapped on my desk. "Are you sure of that, Short?"

When I was silent, he ordered, "Bring it out."

Reluctantly, I pulled out my palm-top and handed it over.

"Just what I thought. Playing hangman, were you, Short?"

"No, sir."

"Humph." Hobbs's eyes scanned the screen, and widened as I knew they would. "What is this?"

I shrugged. "It's a diagram, sir."

"I can see that, Short! What the hell is it a diagram of?"

I felt a smirk tug the corners of my mouth. "Either it's a cross-section of your head, Professor Hobbs, or it's a helmet."

Hobbs glared at me some more, obviously unable to decide if I was insulting him or not. He must have settled for the first option, because his next words echoed through the room.

"AND WHAT ARE YOU _SUPPOSED_ TO BE DOING IN THIS CLASS, SHORT?"

"Listening to you, sir," I said, straight faced.

"AND WERE YOU??"

"Yes, sir. I just happen to be able to listen to you and work on a superior helmet design while I'm at it."

"Repeat everything I said back to me, Short," Hobbs said in a marginally quieter voice. "And no smart-talk, you hear me?"

I bit my lip. "Yes, sir."

"REPEAT!!"

I looked about and took a deep breath. "You were telling us that if we are in a firefight, never run into an unsecured building, as it puts at risk both our lives and the lives of any civilians who happen to be standing around like sitting ducks without an officer standing guard over them." _Just what you say day in and day out. _"And that tomorrow you'll be sending us out on our first mission with a trained Recon officer to evaluate and correct us, and that we damn well better get it right."

Hobbs swelled up with fury. "Watch your language, Cadet!"

"I was only quoting you…" I began, then dropped my eyes. "Sorry, sir. As you say, sir."

Hobbs stalked back to the desk. "From now on, you listen when I talk, Short. And nothing else, do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir."

"And I shall have to inform your mother."

"Of course, sir."

"So," Mother said when I walked through the door. "I heard you were in a bit of trouble today."

I looked at her. Mother's rarely home before I am, as her shifts can continue well into sunrise on the surface. She was obviously just home, too; she still wore her jumpsuit and her helmet was hanging on a chair in the kitchenette. The flat we lived in was small, but entirely suitable for a single mother and her daughter.

I set down my bag. "It was nothing."

Mother turned to face me. She's shorter than me, with chin length auburn hair and a wiry build. Her mismatched eyes were alert, even off duty. "I'd say it was something."

I ignored her, reaching into the fridge for a smoothie.

"Hobbs sent me a ping. Said you weren't paying attention and that you smarted off to him."

"I was so paying attention. I was multitasking, Mother."

Mother sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Coraline, there are times in which you must respect your commanders…"

"Oh, don't give me that. Do you?"

Her lips twitched. "I only break the rules when…."

"_Absolutely necessary,_" I chimed in.

"Yes, exactly. I know it's hard for you, Cora, but you need to learn to at least give a semblance of listening when Professor Hobbs is talking."

"Mother," I groaned. "I know it all. I can repeat it all back to him. He just doesn't seem to get it."

Mother sighed again. "Cora, just promise me. I trust you to be the best you can be, and serve the People faithfully and with intelligence." Her lips twitched into a wry smile. "After all, you're certainly smart enough."

"That's just the problem," I said. "I'm too smart for my own good, I guess."

Something glimmered in the depths of Mother's eyes, a sort of painful joy. Reaching out, she hugged me fiercely and briefly.

" I trust you, Cora," she said.


End file.
